


The setter-spiker-setter dynamic

by Theblackie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, M/M, OT3, ship dynamic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25865206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theblackie/pseuds/Theblackie
Summary: The setter-spiker-setter dynamic, A.K.A: AtsuKageHina... is the best.Did i get your attention? I really hope so.If you're still reading this, you either are a fan of angst, you like Atsuhina/Kagehina/Atsukage in particular, or... you want to understand why is this OT3 a thing.Maybe you like Kagehina, but you don't like Atsuhina because "Atsumu gets in the way", maybe you just can't decide which ship you like the most, or maybe, you're like me and (i hope) many others who think "why not both?". Well, i'm here to explain why this OT3 makes so much sense to me (with pictures!).Interested..?
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio/Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Kageyama Tobio/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. The Atsuhina dynamic

**Author's Note:**

> So... the other day i was re-reading Haikyuu and a huge realization hit me when i saw a panel in particular, so-- well, i just wanted to share my analysis and understanding of this underrated OT3 (i'm just saying it's underrated because of the lack of content but i'm not really that sure ;;).
> 
> I know this kind of thing isn't common in AO3, and i know that it might sound boring and tedious, so if you're reading this i want you to know that i couldn't be more grateful that you're still here, seriously, thank you.
> 
> I'll divide this in three parts: The Atsuhina dynamic, the Kagehina dynamic, and how Atsukage comes to be when the other two ship dynamics occur simultaneously.
> 
> I hope you like this <3

Most of us love to see Atsumu and Hinata together, that's a fact, but besides all of the great interactions between them in the manga, and on a deeper level... why do we love this pairing?

Let's see it this way. Headcanons aside, Atsuhina is a ship leaning more towards Atsumu's perspective than Hinata's, and we can clearly see it in the manga itself, initially in the moment that made most of us start shipping them.

A _h yes... beautiful_. Everything starts when Atsumu states he's going to set for Hinata at some point of their lives, and we love that, because that obviously means that **Atsumu wants to set for Hinata** and **wants to see more of him** , but digging into it, have you ever wondered...

Why Atsumu wants to see more of Hinata? Why does he want to set for him specifically speaking? What makes Hinata so special to him? 

_What are the actual foundations of their amazing chemistry?_

Well, this is the answer:

These two panels show the main point from one perspective. You may be asking what these dialogues have to do with the Atsuhina dynamic, and let me tell you... they have everything to do with it, because...

 _What we see as Atsumu's arrogance_ ** _is_** _the reason he is so interested in Hinata_.

Okay, that sounds contradictory. If Atsumu is so interested in him, why would that negative way of thinking be the reason for that? Let me tell you... the key is fusing the dialogues, and when we do it we get something like:

"Anybody who can't hit a perfect set-up like mine, sucks".

It's almost the same, and i say almost because in the first panel, we interpret Atsumu's way of thinking as "the player is bad just because they can't hit my sets". However, the meaning of that way of thinking changes a lot in the second panel, where Atsumu's dialogue can be interpreted as "anybody who is incapable to hit my sets, even though they're flawless, sucks as a player ". 

Atsumu thinks his tosses are perfect, and the statistics confirm it since he is the best setter in high school when he meets Hinata and Kageyama.

And the reason he thinks like that is this:

Yet another contradiction! Atsumu sure is awesome! If he's so considerate and dedicated, then why does he act the way he does?

_Effort and retribution._

Sometimes, Atsumu adequates to the most adverse conditions in order to set the ball properly so that the only thing the spiker has to worry about, it's hitting it and scoring, he _always_ makes his best effort, so the least he can expect... it's the same. Atsumu gives his all in every set, so the spiker has to give their all in every hit as a retribution. 

So, for Atsumu, a player (not necessarily a good one) has to be able to hit a flawless set specially delivered to them and score, because he's the setter, and if he decides to put his effort and give said player an opportunity to score, the player _has_ to do it. He's all about "making everyone dance to his tune". That's the meaning of his arrogance.

Now, knowing this, the next panels take a lot more of significance.

Kageyama clearly wanted to toss to Hinata, he jumped as much as he could to reach the ball and set it, but he barely touched it, so of course it was going to be a point for Inarizaki, but then what happens?

Hinata, _the hitter_ _whose only purpose is to jump and hit_ , lifts the ball and scores by his own.

In Atsumu's perspective, Kageyama fucked the set up, big time, so the natural thing to do for Hinata, it's to snap out at him, because "Kageyama failed to deliver the ball correctly", and thus, failed to retribute Hinata's efforts.

But that never happens, instead, Hinata asks Kageyama to set the ball for him the next time as well, which just doesn't add up in Atsumu's head, until he realises something important.

Imagine Atsumu's reaction when he does-- actually no, _watch it_

__

Atsumu realises that it never was about Kageyama's retribution for Hinata's efforts, but the exact opposite.

Again, in his perspective, setters are superior than any other player because they decide who scores, and in that case, Kageyama chose Hinata, and Hinata saw through it.

Atsumu's reasoning must've been "the setter chose this hitter to score, and said hitter was aware of Kageyama's efforts to set the ball in every toss, so he did score despite everything, just because he was chosen".

 _"If the setter gave his all putting that ball up... He'll take it every time"_.

Atsumu follows his train of thought, his main focus still being effort and retribution.

Hinata never thinks "i trust Kageyama to make a perfect set when i jump". He thinks "I'm going to jump this high, so you better be there when i'm up" Hinata is asking the setter to choose him, and not only that. Hinata is bringing the best out of Kageyama's setting skills at the same time. It's the same in Kageyama's case when he makes the best use of Hinata's abilities.

 _"reaching it with the quickest timing possible"_ and _"reaching it with the quickest timing he knew Tobio-kun's setting could reach"_ is definitely not the same. The reason Atsumu points out this detail is that, the first option implies that the setter has to make a perfect toss, and the hitter has to reach for it in a 'i plan the attack and you execute it' sort of dynamic, while the second option is completely different, implying that the hitter goes for the ball at the same time the setter is tossing it. The dynamic is something like 'we plan and execute our attack', meaning Kageyama reaches for Hinata at the same time Hinata reaches for the ball in perfect synchro.

So of course Atsumu is excited and of course he wants to set for Hinata, after all, he's all Atsumu ever looked for in a player, _Hinata is a great player_.

A setter who always gives his all to set, and a hitter who always gives his all to hit those sets... just how great is that combination? How far can they go playing together? That's what Atsumu wants to know because, in his perspective... that's the perfect balance.

If i had to put it following Atsumu's logic... he and Hinata are 100% compatible.


	2. Kagehina: the setter's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm surprised at how much i got out of haikyuu #387 lol.

What is there to think about when we talk about Kagehina? It's been a thing since the very beginning of the manga! We've seen Kageyama and Hinata overcome all kinds of challenges and difficulties together, we've been shown their present, and recently, their future... so we know it all right?

Well... _we_ _don't, a_ fter all, this analysis would be kinda pointless if we did, so yeah...

We know their present and their future, but what about their past?

My main statement is: Kageyama had his eye on Hinata even before karasuno, and he never actually looked down on him.

Yeah, looks like it's obvious, but i'm going to ask the same question i did in the last analysis.

Have you ever wondered why?

The answer came out recently:

Again, yeah yeah, _we've_ _been_ _knew_ , but there's more to this statement than you think.

See, after this chapter in particular (387), the normal thing to think is "Kageyama must've felt alone and sad before joining karasuno", but is not like that, rather, Kageyama probably felt alone and _frustrated_ under the reasoning of:

"If i've gotten good, if i've gotten better, if i've gotten stronger, and i've been practicing non stop... then why hasn't anyone better than me appeared yet?".

"It's definitely not me, so it must be the other players' fault. If i want to meet someone stronger, i have to make up for them. If they're not fast enough, _i'_ _ll_ _make_ _them_ _faster_ ".

(And thus, the king of the court was born lol).

So, when does Hinata enter here?

The very. First. Chapters.

It only took Hinata one match to catch Kageyama's interest for good

Like, honestly, everybody gangsta until someone you see for the very first time resemblances the man you looked up to the most, _unintentionally_.

Kageyama is interested, even more after Hinata tells him that 'he can fly', you can actually tell what he's thinking during the whole match!

**_Could_ _it be...?_ **

__

**_Wait, nevermind, i stuffed him._ **

__

**_Wait_ _again_ _\--!!_ **

And it goes on and on. Hinata seems to be good, but then he turns out to be bad, Kageyama doubts most of the time until:

Hinata shows an incredible potential at last second by spiking an impossible 'set'.

Yes, Hinata is bad, and yes, Kageyama is way better than Hinata, but just for one second... Kageyama had to catch up to him. Just for one second this 'shrimp' stole a point from him with his own ability, and he couldn't even point out when. Hinata's athletic, he has good reflexes, he jumps really high, and the most important thing in Kageyama's perspective, _he's fast_.

"There's no way they planned a quick set... does he have the reflexes... to react to that kind of set?" We think 'yes of course he can, he's Hinata', but the important part isn't the answer, it's the question itself.

What kind of set is Kageyama talking about? Yes, he sure knows the other team couldn't have planned a quick set, but there's no way he knows for sure what kind of set they were actually going for (overall because Kageyama had no idea that this 'setter' wasn't even in the volleyball club).

We know how Kageyama thinks, for him, a screwed up set... is not an actual set, also, have you noticed that Kindaichi says "that spike was a fluke" and Kageyama is the one to think about that as a quick set? My point is... maybe, just maybe... Kageyama was asking himself if Hinata could be able to hit _his_ sets, after all, the king's most famous line was _'move faster!'_

Now, that doesn't mean Kageyama wanted to set for Hinata, because he didn't. What Kageyama actually meant was that 'someone who can hit my quick sets might be just as strong as i am, since no one has ever done it so far'.

In short, Hinata is good, but at the same time... he isn't, Hinata could've been Kageyama's rival... _could have,_ but he wasn't, it's kinda like 'this could be us but u -not- playin', and that makes Kageyama upset because, if Hinata has all that, why isn't he using it the right way? Rather... why is someone who has the ability to catch up to him not doing anything to compete?

And that's when these iconic panels enter the chat:

Ah yes, Kageyama's dialogue hits different when you realize that he's quoting his gramps.

Kageyama isn't looking down on Hinata, and he's still interested after the match. If this doesn't prove it, then haikyuu #2 will:

Before explaining what's shown, let's consider another reason for Kageyama to have interest in Hinata.

Quoting gramps: "somebody who's even better _will come_ _and_ _find_ _you"_.

Kageyama definitely wasn't expecting Hinata to go to Karasuno, he could've just leave it aside, but then, out of nowhere, he shows up right in front of him and claims he's going to be the new ace. Is that a challenge?

Just look at how that instantly gets his attention!

Every person he competed with had left (as shown in #387), but not this time.

Hinata is saying that he's better now and Kageyama is legit excited about that because, Hinata is everything his gramps described.

"It doesn't matter how good you've gotten, i'm not going easy on you".

After that line, you can't say Kageyama underestimates Hinata.

He's far more athletic than him, he's faster, he jumps higher, he has better reflexes, and now he says he got better at volleyball? Finally! (Though he still sucked back then, ah... the deception, lol)

Anyways, my main point of all this analysis, as i said before, was to explain why Kageyama was interested in Hinata from the very beginning, that and... to establish the main difference between Atsuhina and Kagehina.

You see, both ships have very similar dynamics, and a whole lot of chemistry, but with this analysis i can say that both of them differ in one thing. 

The setters' objectives, or let's just say... 

_Kageyama found a rival in a partner, and Atsumu found a partner in a rival_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!! I hope you liked this analysis ;;;  
> All of the pics i used (aside from the first one) are from haikyuu #1 and #2!
> 
> Have a good day/night!  
> Bye bye <33


End file.
